When Jesus Says “Stay”

When Jesus Says “Stay” – “Christian, God may call you to foreign missions. But until then I know for a fact he has called you to domestic missions.”

Watch Your Conscience in the Workplace

Watch Your Conscience in the Workplace – “Your conscience, as Colin Smith has suggested, is like an alarm clock. It’s designed by God to go off at the right time. And just like an alarm clock, our conscience can go wrong in one of two ways.”

Created to Clean Toilets

Created to Clean Toilets – “There may be legitimate reasons why we can’t serve, but I fear that we often quickly settle for convenient excuses that secure our comfort rather than our sacrifice.”

Is Everyone Punished the Same in Hell?

Is Everyone Punished the Same in Hell? – “Every day is a precious opportunity to lay up treasures in heaven, not store up wrath in hell.”

Christians Don’t Need to Submit to Every Scientific Finding

Christians Don’t Need to Submit to Every Scientific Finding – “One of the things I think to keep in mind is that there’s a difference between experimental science and what you might call historical science—or science that’s trying to reconstruct the far past.”

Modern Research about Happiness Repeatedly Parallels Biblical Principles

Modern Research about Happiness Repeatedly Parallels Biblical Principles – “With their talk of being thankful, serving others, and giving generously of time and money—accompanied by the assurance that money, sex, and power won’t buy happiness— progressive secular psychologists sound remarkably like old-fashioned preachers!”

Your Church Needs You to Sing

Your Church Needs You to Sing – “Sure, we could speak the lyrics, and the truth in them should still move us to worship. But the elements of rhythm and melody arrest our affections in transformative ways not typical of speech alone.”

God Doesn’t Say, “I Love You, But…”

God Doesn’t Say, “I Love You, But…” – “We tend to think of prohibitions as exceptions to love.”

The One Headline That Should Always Grip Us

The One Headline That Should Always Grip Us – “We need to be reminded of where history is heading.”

History Is Important in Times of Despair

History Is Important in Times of Despair – “God has already revealed himself in Christ, and Christ promises to be with us.”

Your Gospel Keeps People from God

Your Gospel Keeps People from God – “Ten Appeals to Prosperity Preachers.”

Recovering the Priority of Personal Holiness

Recovering the Priority of Personal Holiness – “What gave John Owen success in ministry was not so much his oratory skill, nor his evangelistic zeal, nor even his love for the people he shepherded. John Owen was used mightily by God in all these ways because he was a man characterized by personal holiness.”

If We Value Foster Care, We Should Fight for Religious Freedom

If We Value Foster Care, We Should Fight for Religious Freedom – “As Christians we care about foster care because we understand the importance of family. We should be just as concerned about whether those children are able to grow up in homes and in a country where they are free to follow Christ.”

The Stains That No One Sees: How Jesus Removes Our Shame

The Stains That No One Sees: How Jesus Removes Our Shame – “There is always more that’s right in Jesus than there is what’s wrong in us, more grace in him than offense in us, more forgiveness in him than sin in us.”

And God Saw That It Was Good But I Was Too Busy To Pay Attention

And God Saw That It Was Good But I Was Too Busy To Pay Attention – “Usefulness is the sole criterion for the World, the Flesh, or the Devil. But you have no use value to God. You can’t. There is nothing He needs.”

Parents Are Works in Progress

Parents Are Works in Progress – “Unless you come to parenting with an ambassadorial mentality, there will be four things that happen.”

Sent into Orbit

Sent into Orbit – “How can it be that something most of us once thought of as permanent (’till death do us part’) has become so fragile? Why have our expectations been so radically lowered that we’re scared, when we meet someone we haven’t seen for 10 years, to ask how the family is doing?”

Revival and the Book of Nehemiah

Revival and the Book of Nehemiah – “If you are not content with a Christianity characterized by minimal devotion to God, Nehemiah is your book.” 

Standing on Our Knees

Standing on Our Knees – “What compels these people to get up early and kneel in the snow? Why is it so important to meet together when they could whisper a prayer from the warmth of their beds?”

Christian Reflections on Anger

Christian Reflections on Anger – “Anger is something — to varying degrees — everyone struggles with. We must learn to deal with anger in a godly way.”

Laziness Is Profoundly Unchristian: How Free Grace Awakens Hard Work

Laziness Is Profoundly Unchristian: How Free Grace Awakens Hard Work – “Does Christianity have a work ethic?”

The Discipline of Listening

The Discipline of Listening – “For the aching heart, an open ear may be the best comfort.”

Maintaining Confidence in the Process

Maintaining Confidence in the Process – “As individuals, we grow in our understanding of the ways and works of God not by reading the Bible once, but by reading it a hundred times. We read it, and little by little, day by day, we come to understand and apply its truths. We don’t give up after reading it once through or after reading it for only one year.”

10 Reasons Even Committed Church Attenders are Attending Church Less Often

10 Reasons Even Committed Church Attenders are Attending Church Less Often – Most every church leader in the nation is experiencing these trends. No one is sure if there is a solution to turn things back.

6 Things to Remember When You Feel Like You Can’t Pray

6 Things to Remember When You Feel Like You Can’t Pray – Sometimes you can’t find the words or the direction to even know what to ask. Here are some encouragements.

A Rubbish Redeemed

A Rubbish Redeemed – “He still creates beauty from garbage. He still loves to forgive, redeem, restore, and transform.”

Wait! What (Not) to Ask When Hope Is Deferred

Wait! What (Not) to Ask When Hope Is Deferred – “We all grapple with unfulfilled desires. Marriage, children, financial stability, physical health—insert your deferred hope here.”

Are Miracles Improbable?

Are Miracles Improbable? – “In the end, it all comes down to one’s worldview.  If one is not closed off to the possibility of the miraculous, they are willing to consider the evidence. Either way, there is no reason why we should feel compelled to always pick a non-miraculous explanation.”

Reading the Bible and Praying More Won’t Break Your Porn Addiction

Reading the Bible and Praying More Won’t Break Your Porn Addiction – “Men and women in the church still find themselves addicted to porn. How can we help others find freedom from this form of spiritual and physical bondage?”

Whatever My Lot: Embracing the Day God Has Made

Whatever My Lot: Embracing the Day God Has Made – “Each day, our heavenly Father gives comfort for today’s sorrows and blessings for today’s joys. Happiness in him comes one day at a time.”

Preschool Theology, Bubble Machines, and Remembering What Matters

Preschool Theology, Bubble Machines, and Remembering What Matters – “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it” (Luke 18:17).

8 Ways to Battle ‘Comfort Idolatry’

8 Ways to Battle ‘Comfort Idolatry’ – “One of Christianity’s greatest idolatries today is also one of the most subtle and insidious: the idolatry of comfort.”

Does James Really Contradict Paul?

Does James Really Contradict Paul? – “When understood in their proper context, it’s clear that James doesn’t contradict Paul; on the contrary, they complement each other quite well.”

The Great Exchanges of Romans

The Great Exchanges of Romans – “When the wonder of the gospel breaks into your life, you feel as though you are the first person to discover its power and glory. Where has Christ been hidden all these years?”

Why The Lord Put You in a Church

Why The Lord Put You in a Church – It’s all about the “one anothers.”

All Hail the Power of Jesus’s Name

All Hail the Power of Jesus’s Name – David Mathis writes a beautiful reflection on when Jesus sat down on the throne. He uses a well-known hymn to walk through these thoughts. 

What’s in Your Soul That the Gospel Needs to Run a Sword Through?

What’s in Your Soul That the Gospel Needs to Run a Sword Through? – “Are you searching for pleasure and meaning in ways contrary to God’s plan? Are you trying to write the story of your own glory with your life? Are there areas of stubborn sin you have yet to attack with the power of Christ’s grace?”

Where the Gospel Meets Motherhood

Where the Gospel Meets Motherhood – “Does the gospel really reach into the mundane moments of motherhood?”

‘I Am Doing God’s Work’

‘I Am Doing God’s Work’ – “How Abortion Normalizes Unjust Killing.”

Is Baptism Necessary for Salvation?

Is Baptism Necessary for Salvation? – “When Does Salvation Start?”

Beware of Taking Your Sorrows to Alcohol Before God

Beware of Taking Your Sorrows to Alcohol Before God – “What starts as periodic self-medication can quickly morph into a reflexive habit. Whenever I felt undesirable feelings of sadness, I turned to liquor to manage the pain. But the bottom of the glass never marked the end of my troubles.”

The Way to Greatness

The Way to Greatness – “Like the disciples, we seem to be always jockeying for position. We are driven to succeed, to prosper, to win.”

Why You Need a Sabbath

Why You Need a Sabbath – “God designed the Sabbath for a reason. He created us humans with the desire to work, be creative and produce. God knew the toil it would take on us. Work can be exhausting and a distraction from God.”

The Worship Song I Can’t Bring Myself to Sing

The Worship Song I Can’t Bring Myself to Sing – “If your faith rests in your idea of how God is supposed to answer your prayers . . . then that kind of faith is very shaky and is bound to be demolished when the storms of life hit it. But if your faith rests on the character of him who is the eternal I AM, then that kind of faith is rugged and will endure.”

UFOs and the Laughter of Faith

UFOs and the Laughter of Faith – “Stay steady and laugh in the face of imagined and real invasions. God reigns. You are his child. What could be more secure!”

Minor Prophets in My Home: How Children Reveal Our Idols

Minor Prophets in My Home: How Children Reveal Our Idols – “We are by nature at the center of the universe, desiring everyone to orbit around us. One way God reveals this is through the minor prophets that grow up in our homes. And when their preaching hits home, the response should be repentance and not self-protection.”

Let’s Have Done with “I’m Sorry, But”

Let’s Have Done with “I’m Sorry, But” – Here’s a good perspective on repentance.

5 Pleas for Sung Worship

5 Pleas for Sung Worship – “With the passage of time, with exposure to different styles, to worship services in different cultures, and with a growing sense of conviction about how our singing should work, I have five pleas to make to my brothers and sisters when we gather to give God glory in song.”

How to Pursue Wealth as a Gift

How to Pursue Wealth as a Gift – “We can’t love both God and wealth as ultimate, but we should enjoy his good gifts and pursue them in the right order and according to his calling.”

Flower Power

Flower Power – This in response to the recent event at Union Theological Seminary: “Better the robust atheism of a Bertrand Russell or a Christopher Hitchens than the infantile antics of a typical liberal Christian.”

Strong Families Share Mission

Strong Families Share Mission – “When parents bring their children up to work and worship alongside them, it tells the world something about the Father and his spiritual children.”

6 Important Things Jesus Warned Us About

6 Important Things Jesus Warned Us About – “It’s pivotal that we take this cautionary advice seriously.”

Get to the Cross and Never Leave

Get to the Cross and Never Leave – “For the early Christians, that Jesus had been crucifiedwas not simply a singular event, but it quickly became part of his identity, and theirs. Everything changed when God was crucified.”

Practicing Gentleness in the Age of Outrage

Practicing Gentleness in the Age of Outrage – “It is easy accept the notion that we must speak to one another in harsh, uncharitable terms in order to be heard at all—especially when it comes to matters of politics, where passions are often most inflamed.”

If You Want Your Kids to Own Their Faith, Teach Them to Think Critically about Their Faith

If You Want Your Kids to Own Their Faith, Teach Them to Think Critically about Their Faith – “I think this is one of the reasons why many Christian kids grow up and abandon ‘their’ beliefs. For many of them, those beliefs were never theirs in the first place. 

7 Invisible Weapons for Effective Ministry

7 Invisible Weapons for Effective Ministry – “So many of God’s weapons are slow, subtle, almost secretive. Like yeast in bread or water coming to a boil, God loves to work in ways that require extended faith and the wisdom of spiritual foresight.”

The Church is a Means of Grace

The Church is a Means of Grace – “The local congregation in its entirety, where each has been gifted by the Spirit for the benefit of others, is regularly used by the Spirit for our salvation and sanctification in Christ.”

Jonah Couldn’t Get Away

Jonah Couldn’t Get Away – “This God is sovereign—he can tell the seas and winds and worms and great fish and prophets what to do because he created them—so Jonah couldn’t get away from him and his loving embrace of those outside of Israel.”

6 Steps on the Path to Forgiveness

6 Steps on the Path to Forgiveness – “The question is not, Did you get hurt? The question is, Are you going to let the hurt harden you? Numb you? Suck up all your joy?”

20 Quotes from David Platt’s (Vulnerable) New Book on Making Your Life Count

20 Quotes from David Platt’s (Vulnerable) New Book on Making Your Life Count – Some of these are worthy spending some time thinking about.

Here Are 5 Tips for Conversations in Our Tense Cultural Moment

Here Are 5 Tips for Conversations in Our Tense Cultural Moment – “In years gone by, it seems you could just disagree with someone and everyone was fine with that. You could just shake hands and move on. But now, in our tense cultural situation, disagreement is regarded as a personal attack. To disagree with someone is to be hateful and unloving toward them.”

When the News Is Too Much

When the News Is Too Much – “How do we consume responsibly so that it doesn’t cripple us—or worse, desensitize us?”

Christians in Community: Redeeming the Concept Of Ubuntu

Christians in Community: Redeeming the Concept Of Ubuntu – “God never intended for the Christian to live the Christian life alone.”

‘It Doesn’t Make Sense’

‘It Doesn’t Make Sense’ – “When We’re Blindsided by Suicide.”

Trails Are For Following, Not Just Blazing

Trails Are For Following, Not Just Blazing – “The world needs trailblazers, and ought to celebrate them. They get the glory for a reason. But if their hard-won trails are going to do us any good going forward, then the world also needs trail-followers. What’s the point of a path if no one uses it?”

Marriage@FBCAllen

Marriage@FBCAllen – The challenges to marriages are many. This Marriage@FBCAllen site is filled with helpful resources. The brief articles speak to every facet of married life.

Hasn’t Science Disproved Christianity?

Hasn’t Science Disproved Christianity? – “Religious faith, Christian faith in particular, faces a significant challenge in the Western world because scientific materialism and secular humanism has become the default faith for many. But science has not and cannot disprove Christian faith.”

Forgiven Much Love Much

Forgiven Much Love Much – “We would do well to meditate on this story with great regularity. Because nothing is more daily than messy relationships and the call to forgive.” 

A Parent’s Guide to “Yes” and “No”

A Parent’s Guide to “Yes” and “No” – Jesus' command to "Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’" has major implications for a family unit.

He Will Not Forget Your Works!

He Will Not Forget Your Works! – “Strolling back across one of the most beautiful beaches in Ireland recently, I noticed that the footprints I had made on my outward journey had so quickly disappeared. Within minutes of my passing, wind-blown rivulets of sand had filled my footprints. It was as if my journey had not happened, nothing to show for me being there.”

How Christians Can Prepare for the 2020 Election

How Christians Can Prepare for the 2020 Election – “With the 2020 election just a year away, it’s incumbent on the church to reflect on how our political approach can be more shaped by Christ than by cable news.”

How Do I Know That God Is for Me

How Do I Know That God Is for Me – “We can be sure that God is for us because this God, the God of the Bible, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up to the cross for us all.”

What Did Jesus Mean by “The Broad Way?”

What Did Jesus Mean by “The Broad Way?” – “The broad road is a way of external commands, but the narrow way has to do with something deeper—the changed heart.”

4 Myths that Keep College Students from Joining a Church

4 Myths that Keep College Students from Joining a Church – “Do you want to faithfully follow Christ during your college years? Then join a church.”

Habit

Habit – “I learned more deeply and personally that ‘man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord’. In the years since, three things have helped me form and keep this habit. Daily. Place. Plan. And Plate.”

How Long?

How Long? – It’s a question we ask and that was often asked in the Bible.

Missionary Identity

Missionary Identity – “Our culture is a mission field. We must see ourselves as people on mission. This is not our home. This is our mission field. Therefore, we all must see our vocations as mission—as kingdom work.”

How to Suffer Without Grumbling

How to Suffer Without Grumbling: Why I Love the Apostle Paul – “Paul believed about his suffering — no matter how severe — was that it came ultimately with God’s purpose, and the purpose was that Paul would trust himself less and trust God more, every moment of his life, especially as death approached.”

How To Approach Bible Study With Joy

How To Approach Bible Study With Joy – “This gospel frees us to read the Bible from a place of joy rather than fear or shame. Instead of coming to the Bible burdened with guilt, we can come excited to be refreshed and revived.”

This Saying is Trustworthy and Deserving of Full Acceptance

This Saying is Trustworthy and Deserving of Full Acceptance – This is a helpful viewpoint. People ask, “Who would Jesus spend time with?” Some say the marginalized, the poor, etc. The Bible says that Jesus came for sinners, whoever and wherever they are.

When God Feels Distant, He May Want Us to Grow Up

When God Feels Distant, He May Want Us to Grow Up – “God is doing something far deeper and better than calling you back to a phony faith.”

Did Paul Teach the Prosperity Gospel?

Did Paul Teach the Prosperity Gospel? – “The point is that God won’t stir your heart to give and then fail to supply you with resources to do so. But the idea that we should give so God will enrich us personally—with a view to increasing our comfort, convenience, and purchasing power—is foreign to Paul’s teaching.”

How Biblical Is Your Womanhood: Two Easy Tests

How Biblical Is Your Womanhood: Two Easy Tests – Shame and happiness are two litmus tests that we can use for gauging our Biblical Womanhood. Jasmine Holmes writes about what God says womanhood ought to be.

For Still Our Ancient Foe…

For Still Our Ancient Foe… - “If once the curtain were pulled back, and the spiritual world behind it came to view, it would expose to our spiritual vision a struggle so intense, so convulsive, sweeping everything within its range, that the fiercest battle ever fought on earth would seem, by comparison, a mere game.”

I’m Asking You to Believe

I’m Asking You to Believe – These things are written that you may believe. (John 20:31).

Finding God in Life’s Waiting Room

Finding God in Life’s Waiting Room – “He has a plan for us.”

We Yawn Because We Forget: Uncovering the Wonder of Christ

We Yawn Because We Forget: Uncovering the Wonder of Christ – “f we think we have seen the full extent of who he is, we are deceived. We cannot fathom just how breathtaking he is. Have we forgotten? When was the last time you were mesmerized by Jesus?”

Being Real in Your Faith: 5 Tips From a Teen

Being Real in Your Faith: 5 Tips From a Teen – Timely insights for Christians of all ages on living out your faith.

Are You a Counterfeit Christian?

Are You a Counterfeit Christian? – Do you really have a relationship with God or is it all for show?

How Would God Respond to Sexual Sin?

How Would God Respond to Sexual Sin? – Is there any coming back from sexual wrongdoing?

How Do I Choose a Spouse?

How Do I Choose a Spouse? – Seven Principles for Marrying Well.

5 Incredible Revelations From This Week’s Abortion Hearing in California

5 Incredible Revelations From This Week’s Abortion Hearing in California – Jesse Johnson shares what you’re not hearing in the news about this important case.

Don’t Sell Your Birthright for Sex

Don’t Sell Your Birthright for Sex – “The only true passion worth living for is passion for Christ. The only true meal is the Bread of Life. The only true drink is the water that will never make us thirsty again—the living water of a loving Savior.”

God’s Sovereign Plans Behind Your Most Unproductive Days

God’s Sovereign Plans Behind Your Most Unproductive Days – “Frustrating human efficiency is one of God’s primary means of sanctifying grace.”

What Is the Helmet of Salvation?

What Is the Helmet of Salvation? – “But what is the proper equipment needed to face life? The answer depends on what you expect life to be like. Many people, including Christians, expect life to be a walk in the park. Because that is their expectation, they’re mentally dressed accordingly, in a t-shirt and shorts, with flimsy flip-flops on their feet.”

What Makes Any Story Great? The Secret Hidden in Our Hearts

What Makes Any Story Great? The Secret Hidden in Our Hearts – “At the core of nearly all the great stories is a desperate struggle between good and evil. This struggle provides the context and foundation for understanding everything else in the story. It defines who are the heroes and heroines and who are villains.”

Will Unbelievers Be Annihilated or Suffer Eternally?

Will Unbelievers Be Annihilated or Suffer Eternally? – Here’s what the Bible says.

My Prayer for the Furnace: How I Ask God to Heal

My Prayer for the Furnace: How I Ask God to Heal – “All of us are only a phone call away from our life changing forever. We will get sick. We will lose loved ones. Trials will come. And we don’t know when suffering will hit us.”

Here’s Billy Graham’s Powerful Sermon from the Days Following 9/11

Here’s Billy Graham’s Powerful Sermon from the Days Following 9/11 – “In the sermon, Graham addressed the realities and mysteries of evil, but also God’s capacity for love, mercy, comfort and compassion.”

What Grief Teaches About God

What Grief Teaches About God – “We can confidently invite the One who endured the ultimate suffering into ours.”

Father, Help Us to See

Father, Help Us to See – We need to see with God’s eyes, the work He is doing in and around us.

Dreaming Dreams and Taking Risks

Dreaming Dreams and Taking Risks – “If we are to ever step out of our wondering and into God’s light, we must be willing to do two things constantly. We must be willing to acknowledge and thank him for the gifts he’s given (even if they don’t look like gifts at the moment). We must also be willing to take a risk and step into the unknown, trusting that our Father is with us because he’s promised he will be.”

Living and Loving with Hope in a “9/11” World

Living and Loving with Hope in a “9/11” World – “Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness – James 3:18.”

5 Biblical Encouragements for Depressed Believers

5 Biblical Encouragements for Depressed Believers – “Depression makes us feel the feebleness of our human frame, but it does not diminish God’s power. And as a fellow struggler, you can be a channel of unique blessing to those along the same pilgrim way.”

The Most Neglected Spiritual Discipline

The Most Neglected Spiritual Discipline – “If you’re new to the idea of fasting, allow me to share some thoughts with you.”

The (Unlikely) Section of Scripture I Love Teaching to Kids

The (Unlikely) Section of Scripture I Love Teaching to Kids – “Gomer didn’t deserve Hosea’s love any more than Israel deserved God’s. You and I are just as prone to wander as anyone else—and yet, God doesn’t stop chasing us. He’s unfailing in his resolve to bring about total redemption in Christ, to complete the work he began (Phil. 1:6).”

The Glory of Children Is Their Fathers

The Glory of Children Is Their Fathers – “The primary call here isn’t for children to honor their parents, though that’s certainly in view. It’s first a challenge for parents to be worthy of honor.”

Fill Your Heavy Heart with Heaven

Fill Your Heavy Heart with Heaven – “Counsel for the Downcast.”

The 3 Words That Changed Missions Strategy—and Why We Might Be Wrong

The 3 Words That Changed Missions Strategy—and Why We Might Be Wrong – “With all the emphasis on people groups over the last 50 years, we have made a course correction at the expense of our mission. The focus has not been on making disciples of all nations but instead on finishing the task.” Several good points we’ve seen in our missions efforts around the world.

The Secret to Faithful Evangelism Today

The Secret to Faithful Evangelism Today – “Our identity as Christians in this world is one of chosen exiles. Having a proper sense of that identity is fundamental to living as faithful witnesses in a world hostile to the gospel.” 

The BBC: 100 Genders, 92 League Teams

The BBC: 100 Genders, 92 League Teams – “The BBC has produced a series of nine films for schools that tell teachers who work with 9-12 year olds that there are 100 genders.” 

When Mommy Guilt Threatens to Crush You

When Mommy Guilt Threatens to Crush You – “When it comes to our kids, we expect ourselves to know that they’re sick before anyone else does. We expect ourselves to never forget to take them to an appointment. We expect to never miss that they’ve been secretive or that their best friend stopped hanging around or that their appetite is off or that they’re having trouble fitting in with other kids on the playground.”

The Bible Is Not a Book of Answers

The Bible Is Not a Book of Answers – “It asks us questions of ourselves. And most importantly it transforms us. Not by the knowledge we find, but by the God we meet within the pages.”

Who Needs Chronicles in 2019?

Who Needs Chronicles in 2019? – “Suppose 1 and 2 Chronicles went missing from the Old Testament. Would anyone care?”

What Do My Best Days Cost?

What Do My Best Days Cost? – “Think of what Jesus left behind when he came to us. All the joys of heaven, in the presence of the Father, make even the best days on earth seem like a wasteland. He gave it up to spend thirty years experiencing all the agony of humanity. Jesus, for whom the entire creation was made, emptied himself to become our servant.”

The Devil Will Hang on His Own Gallows

The Devil Will Hang on His Own Gallows – “This story of redemption (the story of Esther), the kind of story we love so much, the kind of story that resonates with something deep, deep inside us, is a type, a shadow of the Grand Story of redemption.”

Words

Words – “The Word of God. This treasure of words flowed onto the scrolls by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Through various people with differing skillsets. Across a span of many centuries. Prophet. Psalmist. Shepherd. Fisherman. Scholar. Leader. Exile. King. Servant. Teacher. Doctor. Prisoner. Church planter. Writing down what God breathed to them.”

Learn to Read Both Across and Along Your Bible

Learn to Read Both Across and Along Your Bible – There are “two dimensions of the gospel: the individual aspect of union with Christ, as well as the cosmic scope of renewal.”

Six Reasons Why Adultery Is Very Serious

Six Reasons Why Adultery Is Very Serious – “Christopher Ash provides six reasons in his book Married for God and I am going to track with him as we go.”

The First Sexual Revolution: The Triumph of Christian Morality in the Roman Empire

The First Sexual Revolution: The Triumph of Christian Morality in the Roman Empire – “Christianity went from cult to culture in part because the sexual ethic was considered better and safer and more freeing for more people.”

Relentless, Hope-Filled Encouragers

Relentless, Hope-Filled Encouragers – “Father, make us tenacious encouragers and faithful ‘builder-upper’s’ of our friends, gospel-posse, and family members. Thank you for the privilege we have of bearing one another’s burdens and showing up in each other’s stories.”

Praying Beyond the Prayer Card

Praying Beyond the Prayer Card – “Are our prayers for our children only American, middle-class dreams for kids, proof-texted and baptized in Christianese?”

A Common Denominator in De-Conversions

A Common Denominator in De-Conversions – “The common denominator concerns one’s knowledge and relationship to the doctrines of the church.”

What Does the Bible Say About Poverty?

What Does the Bible Say About Poverty? – “The reason for someone’s poverty shouldn’t determine the value we place on him or her, and the way we treat the poor around us is a reflection of how we view their Maker (Prov. 14:31).” 

The High Calling of Bringing Order From Chaos

The High Calling of Bringing Order From Chaos – “This work of bringing order from chaos is dignified work. It is God-like work, God-assigned work.”

Self-Examination

Self-Examination – “Paul tells the communion church that they have to examine self. What sort of examination is required of Christ’s communicants?”

4 Ways Your Faith Should Shape Your Friendships

4 Ways Your Faith Should Shape Your Friendships – “Here are four ways our faith in Christ should influence our friendships.”

Faithfulness Is Not Theologically Complicated

Faithfulness Is Not Theologically Complicated – “Faithfulness is not theologically complicated. Why, then, are many who claim to be Christians foundering on fundamentals with such regularity? I think there are two reasons.”

But You Are Holy

But You Are Holy – “God desires us to run to Him with both the things that bring us joy and the things that bring us pain. He wants us to sing praises to Him with a strong voice, and collapse at His feet when we are at our weakest.”

The Offensively Ordinary Steps to Godliness

The Offensively Ordinary Steps to Godliness – “If you are in Christ, God has placed in your heart a hunger for holiness...You are not content merely to be counted righteous in Christ (glorious as that is); you yearn also to become righteous like Christ. You want to be holy as he is holy.”

Why Pro-Life Christians (and LGBTQ Activists) Should Reject ‘Born This Way’ Ideology

Why Pro-Life Christians (and LGBTQ Activists) Should Reject ‘Born This Way’ Ideology –  “A new study highlights why both Christians and LGBTQ activists should reject biological explanations for homosexuality.”

Why the Day to Day of Marriage is Radical Service to God

Why the Day to Day of Marriage is Radical Service to God – “The radical focus of the Christian spouse is the day in, day out faithfulness to serve the other with the humility that Christ had when he lowered himself to wash even Judas’s feet.”

15 Probing Questions to Ask Kids After School

15 Probing Questions to Ask Kids After School – “They’ll help you keep your kids in check, keep yourself in check, and hopefully help you to get more of a response than, ‘Eh, it was okay.’”

Common Does Not Mean OK!

Common Does Not Mean OK! – “In this sinful, fallen world, porn is common. It is common outside the church; it is common inside the church. It is common among men; it is common among women. But it is never ok.”

Matthew’s Gospel as You’ve Never Read It Before

Matthew’s Gospel as You’ve Never Read It Before – “The best way for Matthew to disciple and teach future generations—to fulfill the Great Commission—is through these stories of Jesus that echo, complete, and advance the narrative of Israel.” 

Giving Is an Eternal Investment That Benefits Us Here and Now

Giving Is an Eternal Investment That Benefits Us Here and Now – “Scientific studies back up what God’s Word has been saying for thousands of years: generosity pays immeasurable dividends. God rewards people for generosity in this life as well as in the life to come. He does this because He is a God of grace and a lavish giver Himself.”

3 Essential Observations From Jesus on Leadership

3 Essential Observations From Jesus on Leadership – “We may not realize how much Jesus spoke about leadership and how His followers can become better leaders.”

The Offensively Ordinary Steps to Godliness

The Offensively Ordinary Steps to Godliness – “God teaches us how holiness happens all over his word, and yet we often overlook one prevalent lesson: very often, holiness hides in small things.”

The Diet of Devotion

The Diet of Devotion – “Even Christians, after our hearts and minds have been regenerated by Christ, can be distracted constantly by the entertainments of the world, most of which are rife with lies, mirages and selfish indulgence.”

The Compassionate Truth About Judgment

The Compassionate Truth About Judgment – “If God is a God of love without the accountability of justice, then vulnerable people become more vulnerable, and bullies are encouraged to continue bullying.”

Child-Centric Families Dole Out God’s Passive Wrath on Kids

Child-Centric Families Dole Out God’s Passive Wrath on Kids – “Most parents are trying their best and want what’s best for their children. This child-centric current, however, represents society enabling and facilitating self-rule, the very thing Scripture says is the essence of sin.”

How to Spot—and Help—an Addict in Church

How to Spot—and Help—an Addict in Church – “You and I have been called to care for the sick, the imprisoned, the suffering, and the sinners (Matt. 28:18–20; Matt. 25:36; James 5:13–15). As Jesus’s hands and feet, we must not ignore those in the throes of addiction.”

3 Ways to Battle Your Thorn in the Flesh

3 Ways to Battle Your Thorn in the Flesh – “Where do you crave life and satisfaction where it’s not intended to be found?”

How Do I Live Like I’m Forgiven?

How Do I Live Like I’m Forgiven? – “These are some of the benefits that come from living like I’m forgiven.”

Words For The Widowed

Words For The Widowed – “Lean into the truths that will help your hurting soul hear and hope again.”

The Snare of the Devil

The Snare of the Devil – “The nineteenth-century French poet Charles Baudelaire wrote that the devil’s best trick is persuading people that he doesn’t exist.”

Erode Evangelism and Missions

Erode Evangelism and Missions – “Undermine their confidence by urging them to focus on their own shortcomings rather than the power of the Enemy.”

Wear Down Worship

Wear Down Worship – “There is nothing more terrifying for us than the Enemy’s people gathered together worshiping Him.”

Keeping Love Alive in Your Marriage

Keeping Love Alive in Your Marriage – “If you can master just these five you’ll be off to a great start.”

The Devastation of a Wandering Heart

The Devastation of a Wandering Heart – “Solomon warned about the destruction of an unguarded, wandering heart in Proverbs 4:20-27.”

How to Restore Your Spiritual Sanity: A Prayer for Those Feeling Fragile

How to Restore Your Spiritual Sanity: A Prayer for Those Feeling Fragile – “The most common type of song in the Psalms is not praise, or even thanks, but lament.”

Your True Identity in Christ

Your True Identity in Christ – 76 Inspirational Scriptures.

Run Like the Wind from Sexual Sin

Run Like the Wind from Sexual Sin – “If you genuinely believe sexual sin is wrong and it keeps you from experiencing joy in God, then what? Then run from sexual sin like you’re being chased by a lion.”

Why I’m Still an Evangelical

Why I’m Still an Evangelical – “An evangelical, by common definition, is a Christian who reads the Bible as if it's actually true...It's a way of seeing and understanding the world: A worldview.”

Sharing the Gospel in a World Filled with Good News Messages

Sharing the Gospel in a World Filled with Good News Messages – Here are five elements that makes people share good news.

Which Question Will Your Teenager Answer

Which Question Will Your Teenager Answer – The questions they will choose from are, “What do I want to do?” And “What does God want me to do?” We are all answering one way or the other.

4 Lessons from the Bible About Difficult People

4 Lessons from the Bible About Difficult People – “It is actually one of God’s kindnesses to prepare us for such relationships. I have found many places in God’s Word which not only warn me of difficult people but prepare me to face such challenges.”

A Letter to a Reader about the Battle against Sin

A Letter to a Reader about the Battle against Sin – “Dear Reader, Regarding a Christian struggling in sin and a non-Christian in sin, I agree they can look similar in some ways. However, there is an important difference where the answer is contained within your own question. It’s the idea of struggle.”

Five Things We Now Know the Online World Is Doing to Us That Has Never Been Done to Us Before

Five Things We Now Know the Online World Is Doing to Us That Has Never Been Done to Us Before – Some may be a surprise and some you already know.

Can Loved Ones in Heaven Look Down on Me?

Can Loved Ones in Heaven Look Down on Me? – “If they see you at all, they are cheering you on to endure every hardship by encouraging you to focus on Christ.”

Walk in the Way of the Word

Walk in the Way of the Word – “In order to be sure the Word of God is governing the course of your life, there are four ways you must discipline yourself.”

The Fear-Driven Life

The Fear-Driven Life – The most frequent command in all of Scripture is some variation of this: “Don’t be afraid.”

An Elevator Pitch for Church Membership

An Elevator Pitch for Church Membership – “Is church membership actually in the Bible?” It’s actually hard to miss.

Waiting on God and Acknowledging His Goodness in Tough Times

Waiting on God and Acknowledging His Goodness in Tough Times – Randy Alcorn shares a powerful personal testimony and a good lesson on the “goodness of God”.